San Francisco public defender calls for probe of police

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco's public defender has called on the state's Attorney General to investigate the city's police department after several officers were discovered exchanging racist text messages.

Public defender Jeff Adachi asked the Attorney General on Tuesday to open a civil rights investigation to determine if the San Francisco Police Department's policies and procedures are flawed.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon last week announced several officers exchanged inappropriate texts, some of them ridiculing a separate investigation into another racist text scandal in the department. The latest texts were discovered during an investigation of an officer accused of rape while off duty.

San Francisco police chief said he moved immediately to fire the officers involved in the latest scandal. He also said the U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the department's policies.